1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus that is capable of accurately determining presence information, e.g., “Temporarily Unavailable” or “Not Available” to indicate that an apparatus user is absent.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, an IP network that performs communication through TCP/UDP, IP, such as the Internet or an intranet, has provided various services including streaming, e-mail, and Bulletin board systems, by displaying hypertexts. However, these services are provided through systems whereby a server provides stored data in response to a request made by a client. In this regard, these services lack interactivity. As a real-time system, various services including chatting, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and teleconference have been provided. However, these services can only be used online (i.e., while being connected to a network), and thus cannot be considered perfectly real-time bidirectional communication, since access is made without confirming the state of a user using an opposing apparatus (hereafter referred to as second apparatus user), with its success left to chance.
Accordingly, a future IP network is expected to achieve more advanced interactive communication that allows the user to acknowledge a real time state of a second apparatus user. To achieve the advanced interactive communication, however, it is necessary for each apparatus user to keep complete track of the state of an opposing apparatus (hereafter referred to as second apparatus), i.e., presence information. Such presence information is defined by RFC3856, RFC2778, and particularly RFC2778, which are issued by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) and is currently used for some apparatuses.
First, such presence information is described. Representative presence information, which is notified to apparatuses currently capable of using this service, includes four types: “Online”, “Offline”, “Away” and “Not Available”. For instance, when the connecting state of the second apparatus is changed from “Offline” to “Online”, a presence agent (hereinafter referred to as a “PA”) section of the second apparatus automatically sends such a notification message; a watcher (subscriber) of an apparatus (first apparatus) used by the self user (hereafter referred to as first apparatus user) receives this message, and retrieves presence information indicating such a state change. At the same time, the watcher stores the information that the user is “Online” in a non-self-presence information section, and displays the information on the apparatus display. In the present specification, a system in which the above-described presence information is notified and exchanged is referred to as a presence system. Further, in the present invention, “Temporarily away from desk” basically means “Away”; and “Away from desk” basically means “Not Available”. In other words, “Away from desk” and “Temporarily away from desk” not only refer to a state where the user is absent such as being away from the desk, but also refer to a state where the user cannot perform any operation since the user is driving, for example.
A conventional presence system only notifies representative presence information such as “Online”, “Offline”, “Away” and “Not Available”. Among these states, “Online” and “Offline” literally mean that the user is online (connected) or offline (disconnected), with no confusing meaning. As such a convention presence system, Related Art 1 is disclosed. In contrast, “Away” and “Not Available” need users to determine a meaning of the messages. “Away” indicates a state where the user is online, namely is currently being logged into the network, but is being away from the desk. The user is not able to respond for a predetermined period of time, although it is possible to receive a message from the second apparatus user “Not Available” indicates a state where the user is also online, namely is currently being logged into the network, but is being away from the desk for an extended period of time. The user is thus not reachable for a long time, although it is possible to receive a message from the second apparatus user (See Publication 1, for instance). There are further indications that, in addition to state information such as “Online” and “Offline”, it is also possible to provide other user-customized special categories of state such as “at work”, “at home” and “in a meeting” (See Related Art 2, for instance). However, these indications are not sufficiently specific.
Currently, these types of presence information that require assessment, such as “Away” and “Not Available”, are determined by apparatuses themselves based on given settings in many cases. Therefore, erroneous state determinations have been rampant due to discrepancies between actual user states and indicated presence information.
[Related Art 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication 2004-72485
[Related Art 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication 2004-318822
[Publication 1] Pocket Studio “Chapter 11, ICQ Setting Preferences”, [online], Aug. 30, 2005, Internet <URL: http://pockets.otto.to/˜pockets/icq/98a/guide/chap11/b-status.html>
As described above, presence information transmitted between conventional personal computers (PAs) in the system includes basically only four types: “Online”, “Offline”, “Away” and “Not Available”. “Away” and “Not Available” are concepts that incorporate estimations. Although they may match the actual states, there are many cases of mismatches as well.
For instance, a PC or the like automatically changes the state from “Online” to “Away” when the user has not touched a PC mouse or an input key for a predetermined period of time according to a condition to change the state. While the user is touching the mouse or the input key while working on the PC, the user state is “Online”. When the user is not working on the PC, the state is changed to “Away” after a predetermined period of time. In this regard, the “Away” state determined on the basis of the operation state of a PC or the like is reasonably accurate, and matches the actual state in most cases. With other communication apparatuses, on the other hand, as can be seen from cases involving wireless communication apparatuses, the user is rarely in need of constantly operating such apparatuses and uses them only when a call or the like is received. As a result, the state tends to change to “Away” very easily with such apparatuses because the user is not constantly touching them even when they are kept in the immediate surroundings of the user. This tendency also applies to “Not Available”.
Therefore, in regard to such communication apparatuses, the following determination process is more likely to yield accurate results, rather than determining the “Away” state depending on whether or not the user touches them at will. In this process, the user is determined to be “Away” when there is no response to a certain action performed by a user engaged in a communication with the user, such as IM (instant message) chatting. This also applies to “Not Available”.
More specifically, although “Away” and “Not Available” have been conventionally determined solely on the basis of the internal circumstances of each communication apparatus (whether the user has performed any action by operating the apparatus), it is basically more appropriate to determine these states after contact is lost with the second apparatus user. Therefore, it is appropriate to determine that the user is “Away” or “Not Available” when a caller action (e.g., a phone call, a message such as IM, or an alarm on the first apparatus) is not met by a reaction (i.e., a response to the phone call or the message, or stopping the alarm). In the present application, an action means a user operation, a notification from a second apparatus, or an automated process on the first apparatus.
The above-noted determination process can prevent a situation where, since “Away” or “Not Available” appears excessively, the ongoing communication is discontinued or put off until a later day, even when both parties are actually near their apparatuses and are online and available for communication.
On the other hand, although it is appropriate to determine the state after contact is lost with the second apparatus user, there are cases where it is appropriate to determine “Away” or “Not Available” based on the internal circumstances of a PC or the like. In other words, state determination rules vary from apparatus to apparatus and it is thus appropriate to change the setting rules for “Away” and “Not Available” depending on the type of the communication apparatus being used. At the same time, however, communication apparatuses have the common feature of being capable of receiving a call as described above. It is thus deemed more appropriate in many cases to make a state determination after communication is lost with the second apparatus user. Similarily, when there is no reaction to another action from a third party after the action from the original second apparatus user goes unanswered, it can be determined that the user is “Away” or “Not Available”. In order to make presence information more user-friendly, it is necessary to create a less error-prone system capable of making more accurate state determinations with respect to presence information that requires assessment, such as “Away” and “Not Available”.